(They are a cool new community I got to speak with, and some of them in there happen to love Welcome to Night Vale so it works with the direction I went for this post, hahah!)
Those of you who follow my Facebook updates know I enjoy sharing selfies during shoots and events. It's a convenient way to show that, "Hey, this is what I look like today and this is where I am and this is what I'm doing"
Sometimes I feel like my selfies get more love than my proper shoot photos. Hahah! But I guess they do have a certain charm to them, especially if it’s from a person from the internet that you only get to see online. It’s a photo of their face, which they took by themselves using their hands and brain and motor skills, and then posted for sharing, so it’s like, a person is very involved when posting a selfie. Do you catch my meaning?
Well, take this group shot of the Night Vale gathering last Cosplay Mania ’14. I love this group shot and all the precious babes in it.
But whenever I can (or when I do remember to) I enjoy trying to do a selvesie(?) with a big group! There’s something extra fun about trying to squeeze all these people within the confines of my phone screen, and being able to post it right away gives it like this raw and instant vibe compared to a composed group shot on a DSLR, that we would have to transfer to a computer post later on.
BitStars.ph is a community for people who enjoy taking and browsing selfies, which comes with chances to earn some Bitcoin in the process. (Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to purchase real-world things) You get Bitcoins by winning their daily contests, liking other people’s posts, or receiving tips from other users. You can check out their Rules page if you want to know more! Oh, and despite the .ph domain name, anyone from anywhere in the world can participate in Bitstars.
BitStars.ph did a collab with Cosplay Mania last month, when they made their daily contest cosplay-themed for the weekend as the event was going on! It was cool to see the page fill up with cosplay photos not just from Cosplay Mania, but also from all around the world!
Tip: Bitstars.ph is still a relatively new community. I’m looking at the rankings right now and #1 for today is winning at only 9 likes. Other times it’s like 20+. Still, if you have a bunch of friends who want to do this with you and you support each other, you could totally win the dailies! The more entries people submit in a day, the higher the cash prize becomes.
When you do get your Bitcoins, you have the option to use it to buy real-world things from shops that accept this currency (particularly useful if you don’t have a credit card for online purchases) or some charity organisations are now also accepting Bitcoin!
Here are some online shops that might be of interest to my readers who are cosplayers or geek culture enthusiasts in the Philippines:
Fun108 Collectibles - All sorts of toys and figures!
Pizzazz Republic - Hair dyes! Manic Panic, Special Effects, etc.
Snoe Beauty (for in-store transactions at select branches) - Philippine-made beauty products. I see great reviews about their makeup! I enjoy their skincare things.
